There are many tree squirrels on trees nearby my house in Pune. My house is bit outskirts of Pune & there is a good plantation in the nearby area. I spotted a strange movement & thought that it might be some different bird. Surprisingly it was a juvenile white tree squirrel.

I don’t know if it is a normal habitat of these squirrels in Pune or not.

I saw same sized many juvenile squirrels but only this one is odd. Is it possible that this is tree squirrel but born white due to some deficiencies? Experts, please comment.

I hope this cute animal doesn’t become prey to Shikra or any other raptor due to lack of camouflage.

Goa is one of my favorite places in India to relax & enjoy holidays. I try to visit Goa once a year.

Goa is about 460 KMs from Pune – a direct drive via Nipani. We started from Pune on Friday evening & stayed in Sangli at night. Sangli is my native place so I took a diversion. But if anyone planning to take a break during travel to Goa, Kolhapur is a good pit stop. Next morning we drove from Sangli to Goa via Nipani, Amboli.

Weather at Amboli Ghat was very hot, still, we stopped for few minutes to view the glimpse of the valley. Famous Amboli waterfall was dry.

Valley view from Amboli Ghat

View of Sahyadri Mountain from Amboli Ghat showing layers in rocks.

This year we stayed near Anjuna beach. I had booked studio apartment at Laguna Anjuna resort. This resort is not that great. It has a theme of old Goan Portuguese house. All studio apartments are made up of red rock and old style. The pool was not clean and the food was not so exciting. I think reviews on TripAdvisor are very old. But one plus point for this hotel is, it is very close to Anjuna beach, just about 15 minutes walk.

A beautiful hanging created by planting in dry coconut.Supari – betel nut tree at Laguna Anjuna

In this trip, we spent most of the time on Anjuna beach. It was very hot weather in Goa. But it was windy on the beach so heat was not a big problem.

Sunset at Anjuna beach

Sunset at Anjuna beach was beautiful & evenings were pleasant as the wind was a cooling day-long heat.

There are many shacks on this beach serving you good food & drinks.

Next day we visited Aguada fort. This is well maintained & well-preserved seventeenth-century Portuguese fort built on high rock. There is a lighthouse on this fort. We see a beautiful view of the Arabian sea, Panjim City and port of Goa. You can also see Goa jail from this fort.

Fort Aguada – Lighthouse

Goa Jail view from Fort Aguada

Fort Aguada

Overall trip was very good & relaxing. While returning we drove from Anjuna, Goa to Pune in one day. It took me about 9 to 10 hours with decent breaks in Kolhapur and Satara.

While returning from Bhigwan after bird watching , we saw these Teetar’s fighting on the side of road . There was light traffic on the road but still there of them fighting intensely. Location : Near Saswad , Pune.

The first international kite festival in the city was held at Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Krida Sankul at Mhalunge-Balewadi on January 26, 2014, Republic Day.
Kites of various sizes and shapes like that of a whale, Panda, Teddy Bear etc were flying in the sky.

Sinhagad, Sinhgarh, or Sinhgad (Marathi: सिंहगड, The Lion’s Fort), is a fortress located roughly 30 kilometres southwest of the city of Pune, India. Previously called Kondhana (Marathi: कोंढाणा).

We frequently visit Sinhgad fort. This video was taken on fort near “Samadhi” of Tanaji Malusare. Local narrator Shahir Dimbale gave us information about importance of Kondhana Killa ( Sinhgad ) & sung a Powada of Tanaji Malusare & Shivaji Maharaj .

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